Contact : Jill Lovelock Ext 7591
email address: [email protected]

Paddy Hillary Ext 7391

email address: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1. This report updates Cabinet on the progress with LPSA2 and the timescale for negotiating and signing off the agreement with Government.

2. Background

2.1. The last report to Cabinet was in July, when Cabinet endorsed the framework of targets and indicators and the management arrangements agreed with partners which included the formula for sharing pump priming and performance reward grants.

2.2. LPSA2 is a successful partnership exercise and fully reflects local priorities for service improvements. These priorities are also included in the Local Area Agreement, and the LPSA2 targets will become the `reward' element of the LAA.

3 Current progress and timescale

3.1 Hampshire's LPSA2 is one of the final agreements to be negotiated via ODPM. In future LPSA and LAA negotiations will be combined and handled by Government Offices. This means there is now pressure from ODPM on Government Departments to conclude negotiations by the end of the calendar year.

3.2 Over the past few months there has been some helpful informal discussion between officers who are leading on LPSA2 targets and Government Departments. The final LPSA2 document, copy attached, was formally submitted to ODPM at the beginning of October and the formal negotiation period is underway. Hampshire is in the priority group to conclude negotiations by the end of November, and most of the targets are making progress although there has so far been no contact from DfES, DTI or DEFRA.

3.3 Targets are being negotiated individually by lead officers, in consultation with level 2 partners as appropriate, but the partnership as a whole will review all targets at the end of the negotiation period to ensure balance and consistency across the agreement and to make any final decisions as a partnership on what to including in the final agreement. The resulting final document will be reported back to Cabinet.

3.4 Target leads are also working with level 2 partners to identify partner investment and contributions to meeting the stretch in performance, allocation of pump priming grant and sharing of reward grant if target performance is achieved, and all this will be included in local sub-agreements signed by partners for each target.

3.5 At the end of negotiations the LPSA2 document will be signed off by appropriate Government ministers, the Leader of the County council and the Chief Executive. It will come into immediate effect and pump priming grant released before the end of this financial year.

3.6 LPSA2 targets will be monitored regularly to ensure the pump priming grant is spent to contribute to performance stretch and that performance improves over the 3 ½ years of the LPSA. It will be monitored alongside the LAA, as the targets will become the `reward' element of the LAA, but within a system where the target leads are held responsible overall for progress towards the stretch targets and for ensuring partner contributions through investment and additional activities lead to improved performance.

Recommendations

That Cabinet supports the LPSA2 formal submission.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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